Birthday Timeline

Ask students to take out a sheet of paper and write down the month and day of their birth. After they have done this, tell them to put away the paper and not let anyone see it. Then direct students to line up themselves in perfect order of birth. However, they must follow two rules as they do that: They cannot talk and they cannot show anyone what they wrote. After several quiet minutes of scurrying around, they will be in order. Instruct students to check with the person on their right and left to see whether they are in the correct place. Then it's time to check the human birthday timeline. Start with the first person and have each student say his or her birthday and display the paper with the month and date written on it. Did students do it correctly?
Michael M. Yell, Hudson (Wisconsin) Middle School